Norman Reedus, the actor behind our favorite character on AMC's breakout show swigs some SoCo, gets creative about zombie-killing, unleashes his inner Sean Penn, and previews Season Two. With squirrel. (And spoilers.)

America's favorite zombie soap opera ended its first season with a literal bang last night as the survivors entered the CDC in search of answers, a hot meal, and some much needed hygiene. Given this explosive goodbye, we couldn't think of anyone better with whom to share the touchingly bleak finale than The Walking Dead's own beloved Rage-aholic Redneck, Daryl Dixon. So, we called up the very gifted actor who plays Daryl, Norman Reedus, and asked him to walk us through the finale — and share memories of what it's been like to go into work every day and kill zombies and feast on squirrel. Read below as we bid our favorite new show a fond farewell until next October. In the meantime, we'll be awaiting the DVD box set and embracing our new life philosophy of WWDD: What Would Daryl Do?

ESQUIRE: Your character first appears in this series brandishing a crossbow and wearing a squirrel belt. That's some courageous fashion statement.

NORMAN REEDUS: There's all this stuff on the Internet, pictures of me with squirrels, saying, "Squirrel, the other white meat. Squirrel, it's not just for dinner anymore." You're going to be seeing squirrels on the runway all next season.

ESQ: Did they let you keep the squirrel belt?

NR: No! I think that stuff is really expensive. I know it sounds strange — you'd think they probably just pick it up on the side of the road — but taxidermy's expensive.

ESQ: Okay, let's watch this finale. After a flashback of Rick and Shane in the zombie-infested hospital, the episode begins in earnest with the survivors entering the CDC. What's Daryl's first instinct?

NR: I think just bum-rush the place and look for food, knock everyone out of the way and head straight for the kitchen. Then again, it's so hot in Atlanta, he might have just been thinking, "There's air conditioning. Get inside."

ESQ: Dr. Jenner's got one helluva big gun there. And you are giving him a huge evil eye.

NR: Yeah, Daryl's thinking, "Who is this dude, and why is talking like this?" I think Daryl would have been super-hesitant because this guy comes off kind of strange. I think Daryl's ready to pop that guy any second. I tried to give him as many death stares as possible.

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ESQ: Yeah, Daryl has real trust issues. And rage issues. Is it hard to keep getting revved up for all those scenes like the first one where Shane and Rick double-team you?

NR: Jon Bernthal [the actor who plays Shane] kind of beat me up in that scene, so it was pretty easy to get steamed. They were like, "Oh, let's have a stunt man knock you over." And I was like, "Well, let me do as much of it as I can do." But that was a real chokehold there. It wasn't hard to summon anger.

ESQ: It definitely shows.

NR: I loved saying, "You're getting an arrow in the ass." It's funny: there was a whole Daryl arrow/ass thing going on.

ESQ: Hmmm.

NR: I don't know, maybe there will be a little Brokeback Mountain thing next season.

ESQ: Back to the show — now Jenner's feeding them, and they're all acting like Francophiles with the wine there, but of course Daryl finds the one bottle of Southern Comfort....

NR: I think Southern Comfort's been running through his blood stream since birth. When he found that bottle, he was over the moon. I think everything just got real good. Where's Daryl's endorsement deal?

ESQ: Okay, now a shower montage where we see all the survivor's emotional states — but wait, no Daryl!

NR: I know: I didn't get a shower shot, but I think he'd have all his clothes on the wall, with the bottle of Southern Comfort in his hand, singing "Freebird."

NR:[Laughs] Yeah, I think Andrew commented on set, 'Everyone's hungover but Daryl." He probably used Southern Comfort for this toothpaste.

ESQ: Let's see, now Jenner has gathered them in the computer room, and he's showing his nifty little Quicktime MRI of what happened to this Patient 19 who got zombified. Hmm, Daryl's sporting a less-than-engaged expression there as Jenner gets all mystical.

NR: He gets where Jenner's coming from, but I don't know that he wants to hang around and talk about it. He's got other things on his mind: his brother; where we're going next... I don't think he wants to get into the science of zombification, and the sentiments of lost love. He just wants to move on.

ESQ: More lethal stares now as Jenner gets mystical.

NR: Yeah, I had to be extra friendly when we finished shooting. I had to give him extra handshakes at the end of the day so he knew I wasn't just a total jerk. I read this crazy interview with Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox when they did Casualties of War. The whole time, Sean Penn just glared at Michael J. Fox to the point where Michael J. Fox was nervous around Sean Penn, and thought he hated him. At the end of the movie, Sean was like, "Wanna get a beer?" And Michael J. Fox was like, "Really? I thought you hated me." Sean Penn goes, "No, my character just hates your character."

ESQ: Now Jenner's waxing poetic about his deceased wife. He ran out of time, yadda yadda. Ah, the air conditioning's gone and Lori's worried — and here comes Jenner marching down the hall. There's Daryl. And now — what? — Jenner just swiped Daryl's Southern Comfort.

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NR: Actually, we passed that bottle back and forth I think two or three times. The thing with Daryl is that I think you have to drink with him. I'd definitely drink with him. I don't think Daryl hates everyone off the bat; he's just super cautious. If you want to share some Southern Comfort, I think that's a good way to get to know Daryl.

ESQ: Miller Time's over, though. Jenner's explaining how they're screwed, and everyone's going to get blown sky-high when the CDC loses power and decontaminates. Just when you guys were bonding over booze.

NR: That rat bastard!

ESQ: Whoa, here you go into action, wielding an ax at Jenner. Man, you better have shaken Jenner's hand a lot after shooting...

NR: I definitely went for him. I probably did that four or five times. And I destroyed one of the consoles to his left — you don't see that in the final cut. I went ballistic and smashed some stuff, just 'cause it's fun.

ESQ: Do you think Daryl ever cries secretly when no one's watching?

NR: I think he would cry but as soon as you saw him, he'd start swinging at you. It's this constant balance of "Pet me" and "I'm going to kill you." I think if a couple of the girls sit Daryl down and ask him some questions, he might turn into a quivering mess. But if one of the guys asked him the same thing, he'd punch them in the face. I tried to find both sides of Daryl.

ESQ: Where'd you come up with that take on Daryl?

NR: I used to hang out with a bunch of old punk rockers when I was a little kid. I remember going to this one venue, late, late night — I was much too young to be there: there was a curb outside of this place and all these Skinheads were sitting side-by-side with their bald heads in their hands, and half of them were crying. I remember thinking these guys were like Gladiator — warrior badasses — and just watching them cry, I kind of took that into my head. That's kind of what makes them so defiant and tough.

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ESQ: That is an artful and beautiful way of explaining why Daryl's first reaction to the blast doors closing is to chuck his bottle of Southern Comfort at them.

NR: Dude, that was fun. I love smashing stuff.

ESQ: Nice arm. Did you play baseball as a kid?

NR: Yes! I did play baseball when I was younger, and I pitched a little ... I think Daryl likes the smell of gasoline; he likes to hear things smash, likes to play in the woods and burn things. He's that kid.

ESQ: Nice ax-toss to you as you and Shane really go at that blast door. That's some real teamwork there.

NR: It's funny cause when we started out, Daryl was kind of solo, and, as the season progressed, when there was a situation the camp had to take care of, Shane and Rick and Daryl all started sharing looks during the scenes. It became this trifecta. This honor system started to happen naturally. We all just kind of ran with it, cause it felt right. I think in times of crisis, they would throw Daryl an ax. It's this weird balance: the zombies are the enemy, but the real enemy could be the dude standing right next to you. I think that's the most interesting part of this whole series.

ESQ: Now Jenner is making the case for total despair. Oh, Shane takes a little cue from Daryl and sticks that shotgun in his face. I guess he's not realizing that if Jenner's dead, he definitely can't open that door. What I really love about this scene, though, is that as Rick makes his emotional plea for hope, and Jenner reveals that his wife was Patient 19, you're in the background still going at that door with the axe.

NR: Ha, yeah. I remember we did one take, and I said, "Can I try something?" I'm hacking away at that door and everyone's down there by the control panel, and then Jenner lets us out. Well, they're doing a close up of me hacking away, the door opens, and I'm supposed to yell, "Come on!" But I did one take where I yelled, "I did it!" Everyone just started busting out laughing.

ESQ: Dale stays behind while Rick and company find a use for that grenade he found all the way back in the pilot. But they're free and running for the cars as we get some last bit of zombie carnage — do you get a good final kill here?

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NR: I got an awesome zombie kill. You asked me if I played baseball, it's coming up!

ESQ: Oh, double axe to that zombie's head! You definitely played baseball.

NR: Yeah, dude, I'm good at it. Zombie killer.

ESQ: Seriously, man: best zombie kill of the whole series.

NR: Awww, thanks, dude. I try to kill the zombies in creative ways.

ESQ: Well, it's been a wild ride. Especially for you, it seems. I think people love Daryl.

NR: It's shocking how many people are coming up to me and going, "Daryl!" I'm excited cause this is my favorite job I've ever done and I've been doing this for years. I'm looking forward to Daryl becoming a strong leader. I want the other guys actually to look at Daryl to make some decisions. I also wouldn't mind the sensitive side of Daryl coming out; I think Daryl's one of the more complex characters, I think there's a lot to explore with him.

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